Tracking Weapon Health and Maintenance

ABSTRACT

A system for tracking weapon health includes a low frequency networked radio tag coupled with a firearm, said radio tag configured to receive and send data signals; a reader configured to be in operative communication with the tag antenna; and a display configured to display data relating to weapon health. The radio tag includes a shot sensor, a shot count register for tracking the number of shots fired and cadence registers for tracking the intervals between shots.

TRADEMARKS

RuBee® is a registered trademark of Visible Assets, Inc. of the UnitedStates of America. Other names used herein may be registered trademarks,trademarks or product names of Visible Assets, Inc. or other companies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To describe the foregoing and other exemplary purposes, aspects, andadvantages, we use the following detailed description of an exemplaryembodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a first order interval histogram of 1,000 events;

FIG. 2 shows another first order interval histogram;

FIG. 3 shows a histogram of 383 shots;

FIG. 4 shows a normal probability plot of the histogram of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows a simulated weapon that fires at 13 shots/sec, but slowsdown to 7 or 8 shots/sec;

FIG. 6 shows the right auto mode of the graph of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 shows a normal probability distribution for the data of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 shows a plot of 1,000 shots over a course of 3,000 seconds;

FIG. 9 shows a predicted barrel temperature vs. time for the data ofFIG. 8;

FIG. 10 shows the MKS wear factor vs. time for 1,000 shots as seen inFIG. 1;

FIG. 11 shows a histogram for 1,000 shots all in manual mode;

FIG. 12 shows the MKS wear factor in manual mode;

FIG. 13 shows a radio tag embedded in the grip of a handgun;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of the components of the radio tag, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 shows an example of some of the data that may be stored in theradio tag;

FIG. 16 shows an example of use and performance data contained in thetag;

FIG. 17 shows a handheld reader used to read and enter data to/from theradio tag; and

FIG. 18 is a flow chart of the process for implementing radio tags onfirearms, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention as claimed can be modified into alternative forms,specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawingsand will herein be described in detail. It should be understood,however, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are notintended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but onthe contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalentsand alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

We describe a long wave RuBee® active tag system and method for highorder interval analytics for shot counting events data that arediagnostic of a current maintenance state and general health of aweapon.

Visible Assets, Inc. has developed signal processing methods resident ona low power, IEEE 1902.1 (RuBee) enabled four bit microprocessor, knownas a RuBee Shot Counter. The chip includes a custom amplifier as well aswhat is called a ThinFir, which is a real-time finite impulse filterthat converts a firearm shot into a single shot event. The telemetricdata communication is based on IEEE 1902.1 and is integrated into a fullweapons visibility network that can be used for physical inventory,entry and exit detection, and access control with RuBee ID badges, aswell as visibility and physical inventory of other mission criticalassets. The shot counting data and metrics contained in the RuBee tagmay be read by a handheld, or process free within the visibilitynetwork. The tags have the advantage of being very small with a batterylife of tens of years using small Li coin size batteries.

When any firearm is shot the barrel becomes worn. Additionally, as theweapon is shot the parts (springs, screws, and washers) in a gun thatcontrol the magazine and movement of bullets, as well as the hammer andother moving parts are worn. In many cases the status of these parts isdirectly proportional to the number of shots that have been fired.Therefore, shot counting and shot management using an electronicmeasurement system and wireless tag has the value to track use andmaintenance of a weapon. After 3,000 rounds the manufacturer mayrecommend that all springs should be changed, or after 10,000 rounds thebarrel may need to be replaced and so on. We have disclosed such a tagin a prior invention using long wavelength magnetic waves.

In many weapons the wear and tear may be accelerated depending upon howclose the rounds were fired together. This is especially true inautomatic and semi-automatic weapons that can fire up to 10-13 roundsper second. At this rate, the heat generated from bullets can have aharmful affect on the barrel and other moving parts, especially if it issustained. In other words, in automatic and semi-automatic weapons,3,000 rounds at one shot per second is acceptable, but 3,000 rounds shotat 10 rounds per second may make the weapon unusable and unsafe.

The 30 Round Clip Cluster Problem.

An additional more complex statistical issue comes with high speedautomatic weapons. For example, assume a 30 round clip is shot inautomatic mode, exchanged with a 2-3 second delay, with a next clip anda next clip. Therefore, 90 total rounds are shot. The wear on the barreland components will be significant and the barrel may reach atemperature of 100 C. If the same clips are shot in automatic mode, butexchanged after ten minutes of cool down time, wear will be reduced. Wecall this the Clip Cluster problem. First order interval statisticsusing histograms, described below, will be identical in the twoscenarios. A higher order statistic is required to differentiate anddetect use of the weapon in automatic mode.

General Weapon Health and Diagnostics.

A third interesting issue is the performance of the weapon itself andmay be both an indicator of the user skills, as well as an indicator ofthe maintenance state. The use of third and fourth order correlationsbetween rounds to detect interval variability can be a good metric forthe general health of the weapon.

We have developed unique statistical methods and applied them to roundcounting to address the issues outlined above. While advancedthermodynamic heating models are possible, a second requirement is thatthe analytics must be simple and capable of implementation on boardusing a 4 bit processor in real-time.

Methods.

A simple firearm stochastic model was developed that assumes a gun couldbe fired up to 30 rounds per second in automatic mode at a rate of 13 to8 rounds per second. Random Gaussian variation or jitter was added withcontrolled means and standard deviation. Time between clips was also aparameter from 2-3 seconds to many hundreds of minutes. Statisticalmethods were developed to simulate barrel temperature making specificsimple assumptions. All data was analyzed using MatLab and Datadesk 6.0.

Weapons Wear Metrics.

The simplest metric is the number of shots counted (fired); thereforethe weapon life and maintenance can be defined by the number of roundsfired. RuBee-enabled shot counters enable us to now count the shotsautomatically. However, not all shots cause the same amount of wear. Forexample, the first round through a cold weapon produces a given amountof wear. The last round of three clips fired at full auto producessignificantly more wear.

Do we need to keep the last 90 intervals to produce a reasonable wearmeric? Does wear produced by a round depend on the last 90 shotintervals? Yes, it can because the gun heats up faster with bursts ofshort interval shots. But time stamping every round is impractical. Sowe developed a simple real-time model that converts shot intervalhistory to barrel temperature along with a set of simple equations. Weadd shot interval measurements shown in the shot interval histogram ofFIG. 1. 400 single shots shown on the left-hand side; 600 shots in automode shown on the right-hand side. This gives us a better picture of the“health” of the weapon than just the shot count. Interval statisticsprovide much richer information than just shot count statistics. A DeltaQ from each shot gives a temperature gain that decays at a ratedependent on how much the barrel temperature is above ambient over time.A temperature-based wear rate is measurable and the temperature model isphysically verifiable.

Weapons Wear Metric.

Mean Kinetic Shots (MKS) Wear Factor.

Key parameters for each weapon design has to be calibrated and checked.

Field data will lead to refined understanding of evidence based weaponshealthcare.

For example, receiving information that a weapon jammed at 83 roundsmerely indicates that there is a problem. With objective MKS field dataand evidence based weapons healthcare, we can diagnose and repair weaponbefore it jams.

FIG. 1 shows 1,000 events. The cluster on the right is shots in automode, and on the left are shots fired in manual mode. FIG. 2 expands thehistogram in FIG. 1, limited to just shots in auto mode. FIG. 3 expandsthe shots in manual mode. Several clear first order diagnostics appearin both histograms. The wear factor for shots in the 611 shots in automode will be much greater than the wear factor in manual mode. In simpleterms, this weapon has twice as many short interval shots over longinterval shots.

Finally, a normal probability plot of FIG. 1 seen in FIG. 4 showsconsistent and predictable normal intervals for automatic mode and, asmight be expected, more erratic unpredictable intervals for manual mode.If the auto mode normal plot were erratic it would be an indicator thatweapons were not properly functioning.

A simple first order wear metric might be to assume that wear at 10-13Shots/Sec is twice that at under one round per second. This ratio can beassigned to each weapon on a case by case basis. Again we emphasize thisdoes not take into account the possibility of clip clusters that mightlead to much higher wear, but the simple first order histogram may beadequate for most auto and semi-automatic weapons.

First Order Diagnostics

The first order interval statistics have the advantage of being simpleand easy to obtain in real-time within a weapon. They also can be astrong indicator or diagnostic of the weapons' health. For example, thehistogram seen below in FIG. 5 shows a simulated weapon that fires at 13Shots/Sec, but slows down because of mechanical issues over time to 7 or8 Shots/Sec. This is the expected behavior for a weapon in poor health.

The left peak shows manual shots and the right peak shows rounds shot inauto mode. It is clear this histogram has a much lower mean and standarddeviation. The right auto mode is shown in FIG. 6. The same 611 shotsnow have a distribution with a mean of 8.93 much slower, and a standarddeviation of 1.40 much wider variability in shot intervals. The leftexpanded graph is the same as that shown in FIG. 3. The first orderstatistics can provide information about the general health of theweapon in the field.

FIG. 7 illustrates the normal probability distribution, and again, ascan be seen, more, variability and much larger standard deviation overnormal simulation is easy to detect. MKS—Higher Order DiagnosticStatistics.

In an attempt to address the Clip Cluster problem wherein many clips areshot at once in short intervals, we developed a Mean Kinetic Shot (MKS)algorithm that takes into account both heating and cooling of themechanisms and barrel. The MKS factor is calculated using very simpleassumptions, such as: a) barrel temperature increases by one unit eachtime the weapon is shot; b) barrel temperature decreases by a 0.1 unitevery second; and c) as the barrel temperature increases, wear based ona single round will also increase.

Assumption a) is most accurate, that a round will increase thetemperature of the barrel as it passes though the barrel the same amountat 13 Shots/Sec or 0.5 Shots per second.

The assumption b) that the barrel cools as a function of time is alsocorrect although it is more likely the cooling is exponential and notlinear. For simplicity, in this model we have to assume that it islinear with time.

Assumption c) is again simplistic and we have assumed that it is linearwith temperature. It is more likely a higher order function that must bedetermined empirically for each weapon. However, for the sake ofsimplicity we have not scaled this as a factor, but that will become animportant factor and differentiator between weapons.

FIG. 8 shows the same data seen in FIG. 1. 1,000 shots over course of3,000 seconds. Some in bursts of 3 to 4 clips in automatic mode, somemanual. The Y axis is shots per second and the X axis is time.

FIG. 9 illustrates the new metric that calculates barrel temperature. Onthe left it can be seen that the barrel temperature goes up rapidlybecause four 30 round clips were shot within a few seconds of eachother. The important finding here is that a simple model producesresults that are consistent with what we see with an actual weapon. Themost critical statistic is the Mean Kinetic Shots wear factor. If weassume a round in a hot barrel will produce more wear more than a roundshot through a cold barrel we can compute a MKS factor by simply summingrounds and temperature. Again, this will be scaled differently fordifferent weapons. It can be scaled to empirical data weapon by weapon.

FIG. 10 shows the MKS wear factor vs time. You can see clearly that wearis at its maximum rate of increase during clip cluster bursts on left.In full auto mode the MKS factor is 6,045 for these 1,000 rounds. Asecond simulation in manual mode (no auto rounds at all is shown in FIG.11). The mean is 1.29 Shots/Sec and the standard deviation 0.72. Thewear of the weapon should be significantly reduced over the same 1,000shots in full auto mode.

FIG. 12 shows the MKS wear factor vs time for 1,000 shots in manual modeseen in the histogram of FIG. 11. The MKS wear factor is 1,847 in manualmode vs. 6,045 in full auto mode.

CONCLUSIONS

We have presented the first order and second order statistical methodscreated for analysis of shot counting data. We have made simpleassumptions to develop these methods. These assumptions may become morecomplex functions over time, but the principals developed here can bescaled based on empirical testing of individual weapons. That is bytaking into account the weapon wear and health will be related to numberof shots, but how those shots are distributed in time will also be asignificant diagnostic factor.

We believe these methods can be used to predict wear and partsreplacement in firearms, as well as serve as a real-time diagnostic forthe health and safety of a firearm. These first order and second orderanalytics are simple enough to be calculated in real-time in a RuBeeshot counting tag.

RuBee Fireat Visibility Network—Background.

The Firearm Visibility Network (FVN) provides for the identifying,monitoring and tracking of firearms within a network. RuBee® is a radiotag technology designed to provide full asset visibility andidentification in harsh environments. The tags use the standard, IEEEP1902.1, “RuBee Standard for Long Wavelength Network Protocol,” whichallows for networks encompassing thousands of radio tags operating below450 KHz. RuBee® networks provide for real-time tracking under harshenvironments, e.g., near metal and water and in the presence ofelectromagnetic noise. RuBee® radio tags, which can be either active orpassive, have proven battery lives of ten years or more usinginexpensive lithium batteries. The tags are programmable, in contrast toRFID tags.

The RuBee® Firearm Visibility Network (FVN) provides full visibility forstorage, transport, and use of handguns, rifles, revolvers, and otherweapons in high security government and law enforcement (LE) settings.The FVN may optionally include electronic identity cards to tie specificindividuals to use/transport of weapons. See “Low Frequency WirelessIdentification Device,” U.S. application Ser. No. 11/633,751 filed Dec.4, 2006. The Firearm Visibility Platform may also provide independentaudit trails for use in transport and storage of firearms that meet21CFRPart11 compliance regulations and adhere to the Department ofDefense (DoD) Directive 5015.2, “Department of Defense RecordsManagement Program,” providing implementation and procedural guidance onrecords management in the DoD.

Background on RuBee® Radio Tags.

Radio tags communicate via magnetic (inductive communication) orelectric radio communication to a base station or reader, or to anotherradio tag. A RuBee™ radio tag works through water and other bodilyfluids, and near steel, with an eight to fifteen foot range, a five toten-year battery life, and three million reads/writes. It operates at132 KHz and is a full on-demand peer-to-peer, radiating transceiver.

RuBee® is a bidirectional, on-demand, peer-to-peer transceiver protocoloperating at wavelengths below 450 KHz (low frequency). A transceiver isa radiating radio tag that actively receives digital data and activelytransmits data by providing power to an antenna. A transceiver may beactive or passive. The RuBee® standard is documented in the IEEEStandards body as IEEE P1902.1™.

Low frequency (LF), active radiating transceiver tags are especiallyuseful for visibility and for tracking both inanimate and animateobjects with large area loop antennas over other more expensive activeradiating transponder high frequency (HF)/ultra high frequency (UHF)tags. These LF tags function well in harsh environments, near water andsteel, and may have full two-way digital communications protocol,digital static memory and optional processing ability, sensors withmemory, and ranges of up to 100 feet. The active radiating transceivertags can be far less costly than other active transceiver tags (manyunder one dollar), and often less costly than passive back-scatteredtransponder RFID tags, especially those that require memory and make useof EEPROM. With an optional on-board crystal, these low frequencyradiating transceiver tags also provide a high level of security byproviding a date-time stamp, making full AES (Advanced EncryptionStandard) encryption and one-time pad ciphers possible.

One of the advantages of the RuBee® tags is that they can transmit wellthrough water and near steel. This is because RuBee® operates at a lowfrequency. Low frequency radio tags are immune to nulls often found nearsteel and liquids, as in high frequency and ultra high-frequency tags.This makes them ideally suited for use with firearms made of steel.Fluids have also posed significant problems for current tags. The RuBee®tag works well through water. In fact, tests have shown that the RuBee®tags work well even when fully submerged in water. This is not true forany frequency above 1 MHz. Radio signals in the 13.56 MHz range havelosses of over 50% in signal strength as a result of water, and anythingover 30 MHz have losses of 99%.

Another advantage is that RuBee® tags can be networked. One tag isoperable to send and receive radio signals from another tag within thenetwork or to a reader. The reader itself is operable to receive signalsfrom all of the tags within the network. These networks operate atlong-wavelengths and accommodate low-cost radio tags at ranges to 100feet. The standard, IEEE P1902.1™, “RuBee Standard for Long WavelengthNetwork Protocol,” will allow for networks encompassing thousands ofradio tags operating below 450 KHz.

The inductive mode of the RuBee® tag uses low frequencies, 3-30 kHz VLFor the Myriametric frequency range, 30-300 kHz LF in the Kilometricrange, with some in the 300-3000 kHz MF or Hectometric range (usuallyunder 450 kHz). Since the wavelength is so long at these lowfrequencies, over 99% of the radiated energy is magnetic, as opposed toa radiated electric field. Because most of the energy is magnetic,antennas are significantly (10 to 1000 times) smaller than ¼ wavelengthor 1/10 wavelength, which would be required to efficiently radiate anelectrical field. This is the preferred mode.

As opposed to the inductive mode radiation above, the electromagneticmode uses frequencies above 3000 kHz in the Hectometric range, typically8-900 MHz, where the majority of the radiated energy generated ordetected may come from the electric field, and a ¼ or 1/10 wavelengthantenna or design is often possible and utilized. The majority ofradiated and detected energy is an electric field.

RuBee® tags are also programmable, unlike RFID tags. The RuBee® tags maybe programmed with additional data and processing capabilities to allowthem to respond to sensor-detected events and to other tags within anetwork.

Referring now in specific detail to the drawings and particularly FIG.13, there is shown a RuBee® radio tag 100 embedded in the handle or gripof a handgun, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 13, the radio tag 100 is small enough to easily fit into ahollow formed into the grip of the handgun. The firearm shown in thisexample is a SIG SAUER® handgun, but the invention as discussed is notlimited to handguns. The radio tag 100 could be advantageously used withany type of firearm or indeed most types of weaponry (swords, knives,and so forth) and some ammunition.

The radio tag 100 as shown in this example is placed in the handgungrip, but it could be placed in another part of the firearm if adifferent firearm form factor is used. The placement of the radio tag100 depends on the form factor of the weapon and the size of the weapon.The tag 100 in this example is embedded into a cavity of the inside ofthe grip. Embedding the tag 100 in this manner is the preferredembodiment. Alternatively, the tag 100 may be affixed to the firearm byattaching it to the outside surface of the weapon, but this is notrecommended.

The tag 100 may be constructed with a waterproof housing made to sustainwear and tear, yet remain lightweight.

FIG. 14 is a simplified diagram showing the functional components of theradio tag 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Thebasic components of the tag 100 are: a RuBee® modem 1120, a RuBee®chipset 1125, an antenna 1180, an energy source 1140, a microprocessor1110, and a memory 1130. In addition to these basic components, the tag100 may also contain optional components to increase its functionality.These optional components are shown with dashed lines in FIG. 14 andthey will be discussed in detail later on in this discussion.

Continuing with the discussion of the basic components, the tag 100contains a custom RuBee® radiofrequency modem 1120, preferably createdon a custom integrated circuit using four micron CMOS (complementarymetal-oxide semiconductor) technology. This custom modem 1120 is atransceiver, designed to communicate (transmit and receive radiosignals) through an omni-directional loop antenna 1180. Allcommunications take place at very low frequencies (e.g. under 300 kHz).By using very low frequencies the range of the tag 100 is somewhatlimited; however power consumption is also greatly reduced. Thus, thereceiver of modem 1120 may be on at all times and hundreds of thousandsof communication transactions can take place, while maintaining a lifeof many years (up to 15 years) for battery 1140.

Operatively connected to the modem 1120 is a RuBee® chipset 1125. Thechipset 1125 is configured to detect and read analog voltages. Thechipset 1125 is operatively connected to the modem 1120 and themicroprocessor 1110.

The antenna 1180 shown in FIG. 14 is a small loop antenna with a rangeof eight to fifteen feet. It is preferably a thin wire wrapped manytimes around the inside edge of the tag housing. A reader or monitor maybe placed anywhere within that range in order to read signalstransmitted from the tag 100 or the tag's sensor(s).

The energy source shown in this example is a battery 1140, preferably alithium (Li) CR2525 battery approximately the size of an Americanquarter-dollar with a five to fifteen year life and up to three millionread/writes. Note that only one example of an energy source is shown.The tag 100 is not limited to a particular source of energy, the onlyrequirement is that the energy source is small in size, lightweight, andoperable for powering the electrical components.

The tag 100 also includes a memory 1130 and a four bit microprocessor1110, using durable, inexpensive 4 micron CMOS technology and requiringvery low power.

What has been shown and discussed so far is a basic embodiment of thetag 100. With the components as discussed, the tag 100 can perform thefollowing functions: 1) the tag 100 can be configured to receive (viathe modem 1120) and store data about the firearm to which it is attachedand/or the network to which it belongs (in the memory 1130); 2) the tag100 can emit signals which are picked up by a reader, the signalsproviding data about the firearm; 3) the tag 100 can store data in theform of an internet protocol address so that the tag's data can be readon the internet.

Note that the electrical components of the tag 100 are housed within thebody of the' tag 100 and are completely enclosed within the tag 100 whenthe device is sealed. This makes the tag 100 waterproof and tamperproof.

Referring to FIG. 15 there is shown an example of some of the data thatmay be stored in the radio tag 100. In FIG. 15 there is listed a weaponserial number, a model, manufacture date, owner, and user of the weapon.It may be desirable to hide some or all of this data. This can easily bedone using known encryption methods such as AES public/private keyencryption. Also, the data may be secured by requiring a password.

The tag 100 may contain additional features and components as will bediscussed here below.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

The functionality of the tag 100 can be greatly enhanced with theaddition of optional components. One of these optional components is asensor 1150. The RuBee® chipset has the ability to detect and readanalog voltages from various optional detectors 1150. Sensors 1150 maybe included to provide positional information, use information, andother data to the microprocessor 1110. The number of sensors and thetype of sensors depend on the intended use of the tag 100. For example,an activity parameter sensor may be used. The activity parameter sensordetects the number of shots fired by detecting the number of projectilesremaining in the cartridge. Another sensor 1150 may be able to detect ifthe tag 100 has been removed from the handgun. In fact, additionalsensors may be placed on the back of the tag 100 for just this purpose.Each instance of motion and/or acceleration is a status event and it isdetected by the sensor 1150. Sensors 1150 are ideal for providing anevent history of the event statuses they detect. Other sensors notmentioned here may be advantageously used within the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

FIG. 16 shows an example of use and performance data that may becontained in the radio tag 100, as provided by the onboard sensors 1150.For example, the number of shots fired, the last shot date, the numberof the last shot, the maximum temperature, and the last timestamp whenmaintenance was performed.

Additionally, a clock 1160 may be included inside the tag 100. The clock1160 can provide a time history to correspond with status eventsdetected by the sensors 1150. The clock 1160 can be configured toprovide a time signal to correspond with a signal emitted by a sensor1150. The processor 1110 records the time signal together with thesensor signal in order to provide a temporal history that can be mappedto a status history. The history data can be stored in the memory 1130along with status events. Tying events to a time stamp provides for amore meaningful history of events. For example, mapping shots fired to adate and time affords very useful information.

The tag 100 may be programmed to emit a warning signal when at least oneof the sensors 1150 detects a condition that meets a predeterminedvalue. For example, a sensor 1150 in the tag 100 may emit a signal whenthe ammunition falls below a predetermined amount. A jog sensor 1150 mayemit a signal when the weapon has been dropped. A signal could also beemitted when it is time to perform maintenance on the weapon.

To secure the stored data in the tag 100, an onboard crystal may be usedto provide optical encoding using liquid crystal spatial lightmodulators. One-time pad ciphers are another security measure that canbe advantageously used with a radio tag 100. Using known securitymeasures with the radio tag 100 is recommended when needed to assurethat the tag data does not fall into the wrong hands.

FIG. 17 shows a handheld reader that may be used to read and enter datato/from the radio tag 100. Although this method has the disadvantage ofrequiring an individual to be in proximity to the firearm, it has theadvantage of being a low-cost way of quickly gathering data while out inthe field and away from a computer. The handheld reader can be optimizedwith a USB port to facilitate downloading of data to a computer. Theantenna 1180 within the tag 100 is operable up to approximately fifteenfeet. Without any additional antennas, the handheld reader would need tobe within a fifteen-foot range of the tag 100 and positioned correctlyto pick up the transmitted signals from the tag 100. Of course, thetransmission field of the tag antenna 1180 can be amplified by employingadditional antennas as shown in FIG. 5. The range of the tag 100 can beamplified exponentially using additional antennas.

IEEE P1902.1 offers a real-time, tag-searchable protocol using IPv4addresses and subnet addresses linked to asset taxonomies that run atspeeds of 300 to 9,600 Baud. RuBee® Visibility Networks are managed by alow-cost Ethernet enabled router 1190. Individual tags and tag data maybe viewed on a stand-alone system or a web server from anywhere in theworld. Each RuBee® tag, if properly enabled, can be discovered andmonitored over the World Wide Web using popular search engines (e.g.,Google) or via the Visible Asset's .tag Tag Name Server. Gatheringinformation about one weapon is important. Equally important, if notmore so, is gathering information about all of the weapons within anetwork. Note that in this discussion we refer to a “network” of weaponsas all of the weapons within one networked RuBee® tag system. A networkof weapons may or may not be restricted to one affiliation (such as apolice department) or group of weapons (all revolvers). It is criticalto track the shots fired, event histories, and condition of a network tobe able to predict future events and to know what conditions will needto be changed and/or further monitored. It is well known in the art ofdatabase software that manipulating data in different ways producesdifferent views of the data. Data from RuBee® tags 100 can be used forvarious purposes within the scope of this invention.

Optionally, a global positioning unit (GPS) 1195 may be operativelyconnected to the router 1190 to pick up the position signals detected bythe tag's 100 optional positional sensor 1150 and record thatinformation. The router 1190 and GPS 1195 unit can be placed in separatelocations or may be co-located in a strategic location for optimalvisibility of the firearm.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart 1200 of the process of implementingRuBee®-enabled tags to provide automatic, remote, and wirelessidentification, monitoring, and tracking of weapons, according to thepresent invention. The process begins at step 1210 when a tag 100 isattached to a weapon. The tag 100 may be securely embedded in a firearmas shown in FIG. 1, or it may be affixed to the firearm in such a waythat it is easily removable. A unique identifier is assigned to the tag100. This unique identifier corresponds to the weapon to which the tag100 is attached. The identifier can be programmed into the tag 100either before or after it is attached.

Next in step 1220, other data concerning the weapon is entered. Thisdata may be the model number, the purchase date, the affiliation(agency, police department), and/or the maintenance record of theweapon, to name just a few data items that can be stored in the tag 100.The tag 100 is enabled to constantly transmit low frequency radiosignals through its modem 1120. In step 1230 the identification datafrom the transceiver 1120 of the radio tag 100 is interrogated by theradio tag 100 with radio frequency interrogation signals at a low radiofrequency not exceeding 450 kilohertz. The radio tag 100 may alsotransmit a signal or signals upon detection of a status event, such as achange in ammunition status of the weapon.

In step 1240 these signals are picked up by a reader operable to receivelow frequency radio signals below 450 kilohertz within range of the tagantenna 1180. The reader may be a handheld reader, such as a wandreader. The signals may also be picked up by a router 1190, or anothertag in the network.

In step 1250 the reader, router 1190, or handheld reader transmits thedata via a wireless connection to a computer. The data may be encryptedwith known encryption methods.

In step 1260 the transmitted data, after it is decrypted, if necessary,is viewable through a computer. The data may be accessed from a databaseconfigured to process the tag data and displayed through a computermonitor, or a personal digital assistant (PDA) screen, a cell phonedisplay, or any other display means according to advancing technology.The data may also be viewable via web browser. When the data isavailable on the Internet, it then becomes critical to safeguard thedata, either by requiring a login and password, or using data encryptionmethods known in the art. In one embodiment, the login name may be theserial number of the weapon.

In step 1270, the data gathered from the tag 100 or all of the tags inthe network may be compiled into a report such as that shown. The reportmay be confined to one particular weapon, showing event and timehistories for that weapon, or it may report on some or all of theweapons within an inventory shelf or a network. The report may beproduced daily, monthly, seasonally, or yearly. The report may beautomatically generated or may be generated upon user request.Optionally, a report may be auto-generated according to data receivedfrom the tag 100 which meets a pre-determined condition. For example, auser might want a report on a particular weapon generated when anammunition sensor registers that the weapon has been fired. The reportmay be viewable on the Internet and/or distributed to appropriatepersonnel.

The purpose of generating reports is to provide information which can beused for predicting future trends and/or improving a situation, and/orfor analyzing performance. Information gathered from a report mayindicate that a change is necessary. The change may be a change in thedata entered into the tag 100, or the data collected by the tag 100, orthe position and/or frequencies of the equipment used to read the tags100. You will recall that RuBee® tags 100 are programmable, unlike RFIDtags 100.

Therefore, in step 1280 information gathered from a report may be usedto add to or change the programming of the tags. To implement this, auser would make any needed changes on a computer. The data istransmitted to a RuBee® router 1190 which in turn communicates with aradio tag 100 through an antenna (either the tag antenna directly or afield antenna). The modem 1120 of the tag 100, using the chipset 1125transmits the signals to the processor 1110. The processor 1110 recordsthe data and makes the necessary changes. Many other additions andmodifications can be made to the data to assist an end user inmonitoring and tracking weapons within a network.

1. A system for tracking weapon health, the system comprising: a lowfrequency networked radio tag coupled with the firearm, said radio tagconfigured to receive and send data signals, the radio tag comprising: amodem, a tag antenna operable at a low radio frequency not exceeding 300kilohertz, a transceiver operatively connected to the tag antenna, saidtransceiver configured to transmit and receive data signals at the lowradio frequency, a data storage device configured to store datacomprising identification data for identifying the firearm and shotcount data, a processor configured to process data received from thetransceiver and the data storage device and to transmit data to causesaid transceiver to emit an identification signal based upon theidentification data stored in said data storage device, a shot countregister operatively coupled with the processor for tracking a number ofshots fired, wherein the shot count register is incremented each time ashot is fired, a plurality of cadence registers operatively coupled withthe processor for tracking an interval between shots, a shot sensor fordetecting when a shot has been fired from the firearm, a timingmechanism for recording time used to determine shot cadence, and aconnector for a power source to power the processor and the transceiver;a reader configured to be in operative communication with the tagantenna; and a display configured to display data relating to weaponhealth.
 2. A system according to claim 1, wherein data is displayedgraphically.
 3. A system according to claim 1, wherein data is displayedas a histogram.
 4. A system according to claim 1, wherein data relatingto weapon health includes shot count and interval history.
 5. A systemaccording to claim 1, wherein each shot fired is assigned a wear valuebased on the number of the shot.
 6. A system according to claim 1,wherein each shot fired is assigned a wear value based on the cadence ofthe shot.
 7. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a weaponhealth calculator configured to calculate weapon health based on usageof the firearm.
 8. A system according to claim 7, wherein the weaponhealth calculator calculates barrel temperature.
 9. A system accordingto claim 8, wherein the heat differential of each shot fired is atemperature gain, and the temperature gain decays at a rate dependentupon the different between a barrel temperature and ambient temperatureover time.
 10. A system according to claim 7, wherein the weapon healthcalculator is further configured to calculate Mean Kinetic Shot (MKS).11. A system according to claim 7, wherein the weapon health calculatoris further configured to calculate weapon health based oncharacteristics of the firearm.
 12. A system according to claim 7,wherein the display is further configured to graphically display thecalculated weapon health.
 13. A method for determining firearm health,comprising: assigning a wear value to each shot fired from a firearmbased on; graphically displaying the wear value of each shot over aselected time; and analyzing the display to determine whetherperformance of the firearm changed over the selected time.
 14. A methodaccording to claim 13, wherein the wear value is assigned based oncadence.
 15. A method according to claim 13, wherein the wear value isassigned based on barrel temperature.
 16. A method according to claim15, wherein barrel temperature is calculated based on shot count andcadence.
 17. A method according to claim 13 wherein the wear value isassigned based on shot count.